Colorado’s latest entry into 57 years of big-school baseball history was practically certain to be a new one, with seven of eight teams never having been to the Championship Series before.

The series was capped by extra innings and about a dozen gutsy plays and performances for first-time winners.

Ultimately, a perfect suicide- squeeze bunt by John Fink in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday scored C.J. Gillman with the deciding run as Columbine outlasted Mountain Vista 5-4 before a near-capacity crowd at All-City Field for its third state baseball title. The Rebels also won titles in 1987 and 1991.

Fink’s bunt, with one out, was intricately placed between the third baseman and the pitcher’s mound and Gillman scored easily for the Rebels, who played error-free ball for much of the Series and ended 19-7, winning 18 of their last 20 games. Hard-luck Mountain Vista, in just its third year of varsity play, finished 16-10.

“It’s so sweet to get one for my dad,” Gillman said of his team’s coach, veteran Chuck Gillman.

C.J. Gillman opened the bottom of the eighth by reaching on an error by Mountain Vista second baseman Chris Harman. With cleanup hitter and eventual winning pitcher Evan Anundsen at the plate, Columbine’s attempt at a hit-and-run was nearly botched as Anundsen missed one low and away and Golden Eagles catcher Brandon Davis’ throw clearly beat Gillman to the bag. How- ever, Gillman slid right and past the bag, then beat Harman’s tag back to it.

“Two games ago and on the exact same play with Evan hitting, I slid right into the bag,” Gillman said. “Same thing here, but I went outside, then came back to the bag.”

Anundsen followed by sacrificing Gillman to third, then Fink placed a bunt right where he wanted it.

“One thing we’ve been working on all year is bunting,” Fink said. “And it won us a state title.”

It had been mostly Mountain Vista into the sixth. Despite Anundsen – the state’s top pitcher – on the mound, Mountain Vista grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first on two walks and a three-run, opposite-field home run to right by Danny Beck.

Columbine grabbed two back in the bottom of the first on a single by Gillman, a double by Anundsen and an error.

But Mountain Vista pushed it to 4-2 in the second on a single by Nick Robertson and a double by Harman.

“Those guys came out swinging,” Anundsen said. “I just kind of decided … that I had to start throwing or we’re not going to get this.”

Mountain Vista starter Joe Allison appeared in command, at one point retiring 12 Rebels in succession.

The Rebels forged a 4-4 tie in the sixth on a walk, singles by Fink and J.T. Baum, then the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single by No. 8 hitter Nick Wiggins off Golden Eagles reliever Steve Zamora.

All the while, Mountain Vista kept threatening. In all, the Golden Eagles stranded runners in every inning but the seventh.

In the eighth, a one-out triple by Zach Higgins was wasted as Anundsen, who settled in after using 48 pitches to get through two innings and struck out 14 for the game, whiffed Travis Cruz and got Robertson on a fly to center.

“I felt like we stranded a few too many runners,” Golden Eagles coach Keith Wahl said. “We put all the pressure we possibly could and I couldn’t ask any more from that group.

“We were knocking at the door all the time. All you can do is ask to challenge the best pitcher in the state, and we did. We only needed one more (hit).”

And that hit went to Fink, who was credited with a single and gave Chuck Gillman his first title in 18 years as head coach, including stints at Denver’s East, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.

“It’s great, isn’t it?” he said in acknowledging that the title was a little sweeter with his son playing a big part. “We finally got a break and showed that we can hang in there with some pretty good guys.”

Four assistant basketball coaches at Division I schools and a top Adidas executive were among 10 people charged Tuesday with crimes including bribery and fraud as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.